In the past, Ford has changed things due to customer complaints. For example, Ford used to put oil pressure gauges in lots of different vehicles. Customers complained that the oil pressure would drop at idle- especially in the summer with the AC on. Nobody sued back then, but there were plenty of complaints. Ford then put a resistor in the oil gauge circuit, and changed the sender to a switch- now oil pressure remained steady as a rock, until it would drop to nothing at 7 psi about 1 second before the engine locked up.

I hope Ford will get on the ball and fix this horrible issue for you. How can a 21st century digital man such as yourself survive without knowing the exact outside temperature? Maybe we'll get one of those famous Ford fixes. Instead of actual temperature- what if it simply said: Icy Cold, Cold, Sort of Cold, Warm, Hot, Sweaty Stinky Hot, Hot as Death? Then you'd know exactly what you were up against.

You might want to sue your weatherman too. I've noticed that they are off by as much as 5 degrees every day.

On one particular vehicle I drove for work with an outside temp gauge, the temps when sitting still were quite variable compared to the "real" outside temp.. Once moving for a while the readings stabilized close to "reality".

Keeping track of just when it reads "funny", you may learn over time what effects it the most. Sun effects have been mentioned, icing can actually "freeze" it at 32 if it gets caked with enough ice to keep it's temp stable, warm air from the engine area would bump up the readings at low speeds or when stopped (even though they TRIED to isolate the sensor it still gets effected)....

Just my personal observations after using that factory model a few years, followed by mounting an aftermarket unit on another rig that showed similar reactions.

My current rig has one that sometimes gives useful info., but I gotta tell ya - the educated eye for snow & ice conditions is still what I have to rely on. Ice Warning gauges just sound off at temps near freezing, & really "cry wolf" quite a bit - too many other factors determine when the road gets slick.....

Of the many type of sensors it's probably a thermistor - fairly inexpensive - resistance changes with temperature. And since they have changed the mirror assembly already then it points to a problem with a connector/contact/resistance that is changing slightly with temp or vibration. Mirrors aren't heated on a 2012/focus?

__________________
Member of the Dropped Valve Seat Club.
Replaced #4 Piston, Rings, Rod+Bearings, AERA Re-Manufactured Cylinder Head and a light Hone. Then CLEANED the hell out of everything.
60k+ miles.

On one particular vehicle I drove for work with an outside temp gauge, the temps when sitting still were quite variable compared to the "real" outside temp.. Once moving for a while the readings stabilized close to "reality".

Keeping track of just when it reads "funny", you may learn over time what effects it the most. Sun effects have been mentioned, icing can actually "freeze" it at 32 if it gets caked with enough ice to keep it's temp stable, warm air from the engine area would bump up the readings at low speeds or when stopped (even though they TRIED to isolate the sensor it still gets effected)....

Just my personal observations after using that factory model a few years, followed by mounting an aftermarket unit on another rig that showed similar reactions.

My current rig has one that sometimes gives useful info., but I gotta tell ya - the educated eye for snow & ice conditions is still what I have to rely on. Ice Warning gauges just sound off at temps near freezing, & really "cry wolf" quite a bit - too many other factors determine when the road gets slick.....

Luck!

I think I will need to educate my eye a bit. I always appreciate a false and real alarm every so often to remind me that I need to stay aware of the weather. I used to live in an area that didn't have any ice so this is something somewhat new to me.

I have been really surprised at the number of cars I have seen slide off the road. Cars that looked to be going straight as an arrow and at a reasonable speed and then whoosh, they fly 50 feet off into a ditch.

[QUOTE=a_2000_se;4579342]Of the many type of sensors it's probably a thermistor - fairly inexpensive - resistance changes with temperature. And since they have changed the mirror assembly already then it points to a problem with a connector/contact/resistance that is changing slightly with temp or vibration. Mirrors aren't heated on a 2012/focus?[/QUOTE

The mirrors are not heated on my car.

The connectors is something I heard one of the Ford mechanics mention but they did not look any further since it was within the + or - 3 degrees at the time which met factory specs.

I would not mind testing the connectors myself. I am guessing there is one at the mirror assembly and one more under the dash somewhere? I would guess I am just looking for loose connections and checking the resistance with a multi meter?

I think I will need to educate my eye a bit. I always appreciate a false and real alarm every so often to remind me that I need to stay aware of the weather. I used to live in an area that didn't have any ice so this is something somewhat new to me.

I have been really surprised at the number of cars I have seen slide off the road. Cars that looked to be going straight as an arrow and at a reasonable speed and then whoosh, they fly 50 feet off into a ditch.

Thanks

Let me guess most of them are 4WD vehicles. I grew up in Washington and know exactly what you are talking about. Could be a nice sunny day and because of all the trees covering the road the black ice never melts.

on another note, if you hit the multiple quote (on the post that you want to quote) then hit quote on the last one you can answer all the posts in one shot and not have to do three or four posts. Just a pointer for ya.

Let me guess most of them are 4WD vehicles. I grew up in Washington and know exactly what you are talking about. Could be a nice sunny day and because of all the trees covering the road the black ice never melts.

on another note, if you hit the multiple quote (on the post that you want to quote) then hit quote on the last one you can answer all the posts in one shot and not have to do three or four posts. Just a pointer for ya.

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